Generative AI Content

Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them.

• Washington Post article about avoiding poor-quality AI-generated products that are filling up online stores (September 2023)

You against the machine: Can you spot which image was created by A.I.?

• A quiz to see whether you can spot the difference between human- and robot-generated images

Which Face Is Real?

• Same as above: which of the two faces shown is real and which is computer generated?

Real or Fake Text?

• How good are you at knowing when text has been written by a computer? How many sentences can a computer write before it no longer has you fooled? Find out for yourself!

LLM Failure Archive

• A funny, but scary, archive of instances where AI chatbots have gone wrong 

Top 10 AI Detector Tools for 2023

• A list of AI text detection tools. Not necessarily still the best of course, but a good place to start

Best AI Image Detection Tools

• A list of AI image detection tools. Not necessarily still the best of course, but another good place to start

The AI feedback loop: Researchers warn of ‘model collapse’ as AI trains on AI-generated content

• An article about the dangers of training generative AI tools on ...AI-generated content

How Easy Is It to Fool A.I.-Detection Tools?

• The New York Times tested five new AI image detection services using more than 100 synthetic images and real photos. The results show that the services are advancing rapidly, but at times fall short. If unavailable, an archived version is here

Yes, Machines Make Mistakes: The 10 Biggest Flaws In Generative AI

• PC Mag's picks for the ten biggest flaws in current generative AI models (April 2023)

How to reverse image search in Microsoft Edge

• How to upload a picture or an image’s URL and find out exactly where it appears online

Search by Image Firefox Add-on

• A powerful reverse image search tool, with support for various search engines, such as Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu and TinEye

Websites

How to spot a fake review

• You can’t always trust online customer reviews as there are ways sellers can get around the system. This guide, from Which?, explains how to spot a fake review.

5 ways to identify a phishing site

• Is that site real or fake?  Some tips on how to spot a phishing site, so you can avoid handing over sensitive information

10 Top Tips How to Detect Phishing Scams

• Things to look out for in phsihing emails.

Phishing Check

• Paste the URL you're not sure about and click Check. PhishingCheck analyzes the URL and displays the real destination of the URL

Google Safe Browsing Check

• You can search to see whether a website is currently dangerous to visit

PSafe Dfndr Lab Suspicious Link Checker

• Similar to Google's check above, paste a URL into the search box and see if the link is safe or malicious

The CRAAP Test

CRAAP Test Checklist

• This checklist, created by South Central College Minnesota, can be used to help you evaluate sources. Answer the questions and then rank each of the 5 parts from 1 to 10 (1 = unreliable, 10 = excellent). Add up the scores to give you an idea of the quality of the resource.

The CRAAP Test and Wikipedia

• Prezi (presentation) with a worked example of applying the CRAAP test and also asks does Wikipedia pass the CRAAP test?

SIFT

SIFT: Online Verification Skills

• Four short videos on the SIFT process to verify information sources

SIFT - The Four Moves

• Mike Calufield's original SIFT discussion

Fake News & Fact Checking

5 Ways to Spot Fake News

• These five tips can help you weed out the real from the completely made up.

10 Ways to Spot a Fake News Article

• Twice as good as the previous link! Some things to keep an eye out for when reading a news article.

Be Media Smart

• A public awareness campaign to encourage people of all ages to check that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is reliable. Created by Media Literacy Ireland.

BBC News Reality Check

• BBC Reality Check is dedicated to examining the facts and claims behind a story to try to determine whether it is true

Breaking News Consumer's Handbook

• Some tips from On the Media, a US National Public Radio Podcast, on distinguishing real and fake news

Channel 4 Fact Check

• Testing the claims of people in power

FactCheck

• A nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics

Fact or Opinion?

• Part of the BBC Skillswise site, this section looks at the differences between fact and opinion. Includes videos and downloadable worksheets

How to Choose Your News

• TED Talk on how opinions and facts (and sometimes non-facts) make their way into the news and how the smart reader can tell them apart.

Google Reverse Image Search

• Suspicious about a photograph or image? This will help you find the original source of photographs, memes and profile pictures

MediaBiasFactCheck

• A large and growing media bias resource with over 7500+ media sources, journalists, and politicians listed. American, so sources will reflect listed. Interesting, but can be taken with a wee pinch of salt.

Snopes

• The Internet’s definitive fact-checking resource

This One Weird Trick Will Help You Spot Clickbait

• TED Talk explaining how to read past clickbait and avoid being misled by attention-seeking headlines

Wikipedia: List of Fake News Sites

• A dynamic and incomplete list of fake news sites, which intentionally, but not necessarily solely, publish hoaxes and disinformation for purposes other than news satire

Games

Bad News Games

• Play the fake news game! How bad are you? Become a fake news tycoon and get as many followers as you can.

Break the Fake

• See if you can tell which of these stories are true, and which are fake. Canadian, so might be an extra layer of difficulty here!

Breaking Harmony Square

• Exposing the tactics and manipulation techniques that are used to mislead people, build up a following, or exploit societal tensions for political purposes

Choose Your Own Fake News

• An interactive 'choose your own adventure' game from East Africa. Navigate the world of disinformation and misinformation through the choices you make. Scrutinize news and information about job opportunities, vaccines and upcoming elections to make the right choices!

Cranky Uncle

• The Cranky Uncle game uses cartoons and critical thinking to fight misinformation. The game is now available for free on iPhone, Android, and as a browser game.

Fakeout

• A simulation-style game where players take on the role of someone creating and distributing fake news for profit (longer than other games linked to her)

Fakey

• This game aims to teach media literacy and study how people interact with misinformation

Libertas Veritas

• Another choose your own adventure game designed to get you thinking about misinformation and propaganda

Spot the Troll

• Examine images of real social media content and decide whether it's from a legitimate account or an internet troll

 

Satire and Parody Sites

The Onion

• Self-described as "America's finest news source" (warning: it's not a news source), the oldest and perhaps best satirical news site.

Waterford Whispers

• Irish satirical news website

Wikipedia: List of Satirical News Sites

• A dynamic and incomplete list of satirical news websites, which mostly consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes

Wikipedia

Alexa: The Top 50 Sites on the Web

• Alexa is an American web traffic analysis company who keep track of the most popular websites. Where's Wikipedia right now?

How a Raccoon Became an Aardvark

• Article from the magazine The New Yorker, discussing the "Brazilain Aardvark" Wikipedia insertion

NBC: Student hoaxes world's media through Wikipedia

• News article on the fake Maurice Jarre quote

Wikipedia

• Wikipedia's article on itself

Wikipedia: Academic Use

• Wikipedia's on suggestions on using Wikipedia for academic work

Wikipedia: List of Other Wikis

• A list of notable sites that use the Wikipedia model. This list isn't complete or comprehensive

Wikipedia: Risk Disclaimer

• A Wikipedia notice indicating that Wikipedia is used at a user's own risk

Wikipedia: Wikipedia Is Not a Reliable Source

• Straight from the horses mouth: why Wikipedia should not be used for research

Wikipedia: Why Wikipedia Is Not So Great

• A short essay on why Wikipedia is bad

Wikipedia: Why Wikipedia Is So Great

• A short essay on why Wikipedia is good